Learning through Living: Limudim at OSRUI

We live our learning at OSRUI and with over 50 Segel during the summer in more than a dozen sessions we do a lot of living. Limud at OSRUI is dynamic, experiential and fun for everyone from chanichim to madrichim.   How does limud work at OSRUI you may be wondering?  Every eidah has a period of time during the day dedicated to limud on their assigned topic.  Topics are created by a Segel committee which has devised of grid for every eidah that rotates every 2 or 3 years depending on the eidah. Our limud grid has subjects for different age eidot and takes into consideration their emphasis.  Our arts eidot, Tiferet, immerses themselves Midrash, the Megillot and Sephardic Jewry.  Our older eidot take on topics of leadership, our Prophetic heritage and of course Israel while our younger chanichim look at All in the Family, Genesis, Middot and Kehillah.

We encourage our limud to leak into all parts of the day.  If your Limud topic is Israel we plan Israeli food for the cooking chug and Israeli dance for an evening program.  Some of our other topics for our older chanichim are not as concrete.  When we study covenant and community with our rising High School eidot we have them talk in their living communities about rules that will help them live together and have a fun and safe summer.

We use puppets, costumes, food and whatever is at our disposal to help get our chanichim involved in our topics.  We try to have experiential modes of learning at camp.  Whether we are composting in our Gan to experience Teva or teaching Ivrit by playing a spirited game of SPUD and calling out numbers in Hebrew we try to infuse our time at OSRUI with as much Hebrew, Judaism, and love of Jewish camp as possible; while living our limud it gives us just the right amount of time. It's only a month away until the magic begins, less than 30 days and everyone is counting.

Key: 
Limud from the Hebrew root Lamed-mem-dalet to learn
Segel:  Faculty; Rabbis, Educators, Cantors, Youth Directors
Eidah:  Unit
Teva: Nature
SPUD: The person whose number was called catches the ball and then yells “Spud!” When he or she yells this, everyone must freeze. The person with the ball then is allowed to take three giant steps toward any player. He or she throws the ball and tries to hit someone.

Todd Kessler: Someone you should know at Lakeside Congregation!

Sunday Morning T'filah

Many of you have heard Todd Kessler sing at Lakeside Congregation for B'nai Mitzvah, Friday night T'filot or perhaps at our Sunday morning service.  We are so happy to have Todd as a musical presence at Lakeside from his weekly assignments to singing for us at High Holy Days at the Koloteinu Services.  Todd is an integral part of our Sunday morning T'filah as well as teaching music on both Sunday morning and during Hebrew school on Tuesday afternoon's.  If your Hebrew school student could belt out the 4 questions, you have Todd to thank for this.  Todd enjoys creating music and has brought this talent to our Junior Choir. Speaking of Todd's creative abilities, it may interest you to know that he is beginning work on a new solo album.

In an effort to bring our community together and to share some news about Todd, I welcome our Lakeside Family to take a look at Todd's latest project which he worked on when he was in LA over Spring break.  Click here to learn all about how he is developing and promoting his project

Todd with our Junior Choir

If you have never heard Todd this weekend Todd and his band will be playing at our Thank God It's Shabbat, 7:30 pm Friday May 6.  It is a fun service and one the whole family will enjoy! Our next one will not be until next fall so c'mon on down.

 Come on our Family Night Friday night (the 3rd week of every month) and hear some of the new songs our Jr. Choir has composed.  Todd's love of music will also be highlighted next year in our Lakeside Academy (more details to be forthcoming soon!)

Todd and his family, wife Lauren and his boys, Benjamin and Ezra have been a part of our community for the past two years and Benjamin and Ezra are enrolled in our Children's Center and love to come to our Tot Shabbat. We look forward working with Todd at Lakeside and say Todah Rabah for brining his love of music, his expertise and his spirituality to our congregational family.

At our Children's Center Model Seder earlier this month